


learn to live so free

by pettigrace



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Agender Character, Agender Meliorn, Alternate Universe - High School, F/F, Fluff, Latino Character, M/M, Other, Trans Character, Trans Jace, Transphobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-04
Updated: 2016-11-04
Packaged: 2018-08-29 02:38:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8472301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pettigrace/pseuds/pettigrace
Summary: During their Advanced English class, Jace is teamed up with Meliorn - who is pretty much the weirdest person at the whole school. Naturally, Jace is intrigued.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, you see that right: I wrote a Jeliorn fic! And a High School AU at that! We're all thrilled.
> 
> The title is taken from one of my favourite songs; Mr Mister's "Broken Wings"!

 

It doesn't come as a surprise for Jace that, in an assignment that fits their personal strengths, he'd be in the group on Shakespeare. Ever since he was able to read, his foster father (who turned out to have been a real weirdo, in retrospective) has made him study the writings of the English bard. While Jace likes the sonnets best since their range goes from Sarcastic As Hell to So Much Feeling It Almost Hurt, he likes to feel proud about the fact that he's familiar with most of his dramas as well. His father's, Valentine’s, favourites had always been the historical ones like King Lear or Richard II where there's been the big issue of power-taking, naturally. His own must be Midsummer Night’s Dream. He wouldn't be able to tell you why, but he guesses it must be that the overall feeling of it is just so _literally_ fantastic it leaves him with a fuzzy feeling whenever he's read through the play.

One would think that, as the school’s lacrosse star, Jace would rather like this to go unnoticed but actually, he's always liked the attention people give him when he's good at something. And he's good at a lot of things.

So when Mr Garroway announces that he'll be in the group about Shakespeare, Jace doesn't duck his head but carries himself in a self-confident way and smiles.

What is a surprise, however, is his partner.

You see, there are outsiders in High School because of their looks. There are the nerds who only talk about things nobody cares about. (At least, that's how it is technically. He guesses that if you're both of those, you seem cool again. That would explain why _Simon Lewis_ is even part of _his_ group of friends.) And then there's the group of outsiders that is determined by their overall behaviour and worldview.

The guy who's just announces as his partner is a member of this group.

Jace has never actually talked to Meliorn, mostly because it appears so that Meliorn doesn't talk. If Jace hadn't seen him exchange a few words with Izzy every now and then, he would've thought that Meliorn is mute or something.

Meliorn is quite a figure. His long hair that he always carries open and bare feet (Jace supposes that would be nice in summer, but from what he knows, Meliorn even leaves out the shoes when it's the coldest winter) should make him stand out like a Yeti in the Savannah but, for some reason, he always manages to blend into the background.

Jace has never actually heard him participate in class - up to now he didn't even know that Meliorn _is_ in his Advanced English class - but when all heads turn from Jace to the dark-haired boy, there's no denying.

He sighs and collects his things, walking over to where the other boy is sitting. He can't help but grin to himself when he notices that Meliorn is sitting on his chair in tailor-fashion, staring out of the window.

“Meliorn.”

His eyes stay fixed on whatever he's looking at outside. Jace pulls a chair closer to sit down at last, hoping that this would gain his attention.

When he still doesn't look up, Jace snaps his fingers in front of his face. Meliorn reacts at last, following Jace’s fingers with a soft gaze as he pulls them back.

Meliorn finally finds his eyes and smiles the hint of a smile. “Hello, Jace.”

“Hi,” Jace says in an amused tone. “Seen something interesting?”, he asks and nods to the window.

“There was a bird.”, Meliorn states as if it were the most casual thing to completely freeze as you stare at one. “I take we have to work together?”

Jace nods. “Did you get the topic or was that bird already there then?”

The way Meliorn looks at him makes him regret those words. It's not even that he wears a specific impression - he's not annoyed or embarrassed by Jace’s mocking, but rather looks at him in a completely neutral way. As if he could just look through him.

“The general assignment is to find a connection between our topic and contemporary media, while we have to pick a specific piece of writing to compare it to. In our case, something that William Shakespeare has produced.”, Meliorn says, cocking his head and curling his lips again. “Right?”

 _He plays with me_ , Jace realises and can't hide his irritation. “Uh. Right. Do you have any preference? What do you like best of Shakespeare’s?”

He watches the other carefully as he dives into a lengthy monologue on how he enjoys the sonnets for their unique and colourful language. His voice sounds like it's curling around each and every word he says and for some reason, he sounds like he's very careful about _how_ he's phrasing things without ever pausing.

Jace listens intently to each and every word Meliorn says, not just because he's barely ever heard him speak, but because he enjoys the _way_ Meliorn talks. His voice is melodic but still clear, a soft whisper and yet loud enough. It's fascinating.

“What do you like?”, Meliorn asks when he's finished and Jace tells him which plays he likes best since he can't top Meliorn’s reasoning for the sonnets, trying to describe why in as much detail as Meliorn had done but failing.

They haven't even actually started to discuss what to do when the bell rings.

“Okay, guys!”, Mr Garroway shouts over the sound of the students putting together their things. “Tomorrow you'll just straight go and work with your partner!”

“Well then,” Meliorn’s eyes flicker from their teacher back to Jace, “I suppose we'll see each other tomorrow.”

“Uh, yeah.”, Jace makes and gets up, strutting over to his table.

 

-

 

In his lunch break, Jace always sits together with his siblings and whomever they get to tag along. More often than not, that means their significant others - although, since he has classes himself, Magnus rarely ever gets to be there. And, since Simon is friends with his sister’s girlfriend, he usually decides to hang out with Jace as if _they_ were friends.

Today, Simon has actually been the first one to be at their table and Jace had actually contemplated whether to just leave again when Izzy had appeared and involved both of them in a conversation about a party that would go down on the weekend.

Jace just wants to say that he doesn’t really know if he wants to go there because he doesn’t even know the guy who throws the party when a red-haired figure steps up to them, a wide grin on her face.

“I heard Jace got teamed up with Meliorn?”, Clary announces as she sits down next to Isabelle.

“You know, it freaking sucks that your parents are teachers.”, Jace shoots her his best bitch glare. “Does he share every gossip with you?”

“Only with the right motivation.”, Simon tells him, wearing a big grin on his face.

Of course, when Clary knows, Simon knows, too. The two of them are basically joined at the hip and even when they're not with one another physically, they'd text each other the latest juices. He'd been pissed about that at first (who wants a girl to live-text their miserable first - and only - date to her best friend?) but nowadays it's almost fascinating how _fast_ things spread between them.

“I once sold him a signed comic to make him tell me if Mr Carstairs and Miss Grey are dating.”, Simon continues. “I'm still confused about the answer.”

Clary chuckles in response.

“So, what's that team-up about?”, Izzy wants to know. “English class?”

Jace nods at her and shortly sums up what their assignment is and his first encounter with Meliorn. The others don't seem to be as confused about the guy’s behaviour but merely nod along.

“Meliorn’s nice.”, Izzy tells him. “Good kisser at that.”

“Sure you'd know that.”, Clary smirks. “You should create a rating app, babe. ‘The Institute’s Best Kissers’.”, she adds and holds out her hand as if reading from a billboard.

Jace just wants to point out how she couldn't possibly include the very best kisser then (himself, of course) when they hear someone call Simon’s name.

The boy almost falls off the bench as he tries to turn around but is saved from the fall when Raphael jogs up to their table and stabilizes him.

“Uh, hi Rafa.”, Simon grins when he sits properly again, looking up at his boyfriend.

“Where’d you leave Alec?”, Jace wants to know. His brother and Raphael are in the same gym class and since it's just taken place, they'd usually have to come to their table together.

Raphael throws him a glance and wiggles with his eyebrows curtly. “Magnus waited for him outside. _Dios_ knows where they went.”

Clary’s eyes go wide at that as Izzy chuckles in response. Before anyone can even say anything, Raphael starts talking to Simon in rapid Spanish, keeping his voice low.

While Jace is not a particularly curious person, he _hates_ when they do that. Because if you do that in front of people they _will_ be curious, simply because you're making a secret out of whatever you're saying. At the same time, he thinks it's somehow cute that they can do that, that they have a connection on another basis, too.

Simon replies in Spanish, too, his tone sounding lighter than Raphael’s. Not that Raphael is ever really cheerful, but the difference is really big right now. Jace is still confused as to how they ever got together - not that they're not a good match, but they are simply so different that he doesn't know how they even _thought_ about ever _talking_ to one another.

Raphael nods at Simon and replies something else before he reaches down to squeeze his hands. Then he looks up at the others and simply says, “ _Adios_ , guys.”

And then he leaves again.

As Simon turns around to sit comfortably again, Izzy let's out a huge “Aww”. Sometimes Jace hates that his sister is fluent in Spanish while he barely understands a single word.

“What was this about?”, he asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, uh… he invited me for dinner at his home, that's all.”

“Woah, you're gonna meet Mama Santiago?”, Clary says.

“Not only that,” Izzy smirks. “He'll be introduced as _the boyfriend_!”

Clary gasps and Jace can't help but snicker at the blush that creeps up Simon’s cheeks. He hasn't been dating Raphael for long, so there's been lots of teasing about him getting to meet the infamous _mamá_ that Raphael mentions in almost every conversation. It's clear that Raphael values his mother more than anything else, so if she doesn't approve of Simon, their relationship might come to an end. Jace doubts that she could actually dislike Simon, so it's okay to make fun of him.

Plus, he guesses that if they don't suddenly grow all serious, it'll lift some concern off Simon.

“So, say…”, Simon starts, obviously trying to change topics. “Jace, do you and Meliorn already have an idea what you'll do?”

“No,” Jace shakes his head. “So far we've only talked about or preferences of Shakespeare’s works.”

“You've spent an _entire class_ talking about nothing?”, Clary wants to know. “Literally how?”

Truth be told, of course Jace had known that he must have listened to Meliorn talk for at least half the lesson, but he hasn't _realized_ it. Usually he's not one to just sit around and _listen_ , so it's surprising that he's managed to do so just earlier.

“What can I say?”, he grins. “We're passionate.”

Izzy chuckles and pats his arm. “Sure you are.”

 

-

 

Two days after they paired up, Meliorn hasn’t appeared in class. Jace hadn’t thought much about it, actually, because you can always get spontaneously sick, but when he brings it up during lunch, Simon frowns at him.

“I could swear I saw him in the hall just a few minutes ago.”, he mutters. “I guess he was skipping? Man, you must’ve made him dislike you already.”

Jace throws him an angry look at that. He’s certainly done nothing to make Meliorn be upset at him, so - in a shortcut reaction - he gets up from his seat and announced that he’ll look for him.

He guesses that the others are looking after him with confused expressions, but he doesn’t care. If Meliorn’s really skipped like that, it’s been a real asshole move. You don’t just leave a man hanging when you’re supposed to work in pairs - not just because of the workload but because it simply sucks to be the only one who sits around alone while everyone else gets to chat with someone. Mr Garroway had even asked him if he knew anything about Meliorn. That’s been quite awkward.

He finds Meliorn on school grounds, much to his relief. If the other hadn't been here, Jace wouldn't have known where to look. Sure, he could've easily found out the guy’s address, but Meliorn doesn't seem like the type who stays inside for longer than he has to.

“Meliorn.”, he says in a way of greeting, looking down at where the other one sits on a meadow at the far end of the school grounds.

Meliorn doesn’t look up, but keeps playing with whatever he’s got in his hands. Judging by the fact that there’s a pile of cut branches and flowers in front of him, Jace guesses he must have grabbed some of that. “Hello, Jace.”

“What are you doing?”, Jace wants to know.

“Enjoying the sun.”, Meliorn replies. He looks up at Jace at last and motions to the grass in front of him. “You should do do, too.”

Jace raises an eyebrow but follows the invitation, sitting down across of him once he’s placed his jacket on the ground. It’s been raining last night, so the grass is probably muddy - Meliorn doesn’t seem to be as worried about his clothes as Jace is.

“Have you been here the whole day?”, Jace asks.

“No.”, Meliorn replies. “I’ve been taking a walk earlier. I wasn’t really feeling like sitting in class. I’m sorry if that was inconvenient for you, but I figured since we’re not sure about what exactly we want to do just yet, it wouldn’t be too bad.”

Jace can actually follow that logic. They’re still in the brainstorming part for their assignment, so unless one of them suddenly got an idea, there would be no need for them to talk about it. And really, it doesn’t matter where Meliorn is wondering about what to do, does it?

“I guess it did throw me off a bit.”, Jace admits. “But it’s cool. So you just chilled?”

Meliorn tells him about where he’s walked along, even though Jace can’t really make any sense of the descriptions Meliorn gives him. The dark-haired boy would only refer to actual street names every now and then and then describe his way as he went, so it’s confusing to follow the narration unless you’ve been there. Jace makes a mental note to try look for the spots Meliorn describes some time in the future, because they way he talks about them makes them sound like the most beautiful places.

“Don't do that,” Meliorn chides him softly, stopping his own story-telling after a while.

Jace finds himself blinking at him before looking down at his hands. In the midst of their talking, he's started to rip some grass stalks out of the earth.

It is no surprise that Meliorn wouldn't appreciate that.

However, his partner continues, “Those are healthy and strong. There's no need to pull them out, Jace. If you want to, the grass on your left wouldn't mind.”

“You're literally playing with dead plants.”, Jace points out, nodding at the pile of leaves and the like in front of Meliorn.

“While that is true,” Meliorn starts, a hint of sadness in his voice, “I wasn't the one who robbed them off life. The least I can do is give them a new one.”

At that he holds up the pieces he's been played with in his hands and reveals a circle that he's woven of small and thin branches. Initially Jace is reminded of the Crown of Thorns but while that one must have been ugly and dangerous-looking, Meliorn’s work is beautiful.

Various flowers of each size and every colour are placed around the ring of branches in a messy way. It's asymmetry should throw Jace off, but actually, the flower crown is pretty. It's quite plain, appearing to be pretty simple at first but when you look closer, everything fits together.

When Meliorn holds it out to him, he doesn't hesitate for long before taking it. The other gives him a smile when he puts it on his head after admiring it for a moment.

“Thank you,” he tells him. Then he adds, picking up their conversation again, “You know, I think it'd be boring to compare Shakespeare to another book or something. We can use any media, right? What about a song or something?”

“That would certainly be interesting.”, Meliorn agrees. “Do you have anything in mind?”

“Not yet.”, Jace shakes his head. “You?”

“I'll let you know if I come up with anything.”

“Cool.”, Jace tells him. He considers leaving him alone again, but actually he enjoys watching how Meliorn keeps braiding another flower crown, how his long fingers twist the peduncles elegantly.

Actually, spending his lunch here would be nice for a change.

 

-

 

 **Simon (1:35pm):** jace doesnt like us anymore :(

 **Alec (1:37pm):** Simon, I'm sure he's never liked you in first place.

 **Alec (1:37pm):** What did he do this time?

 **Clary (1:37pm):** simon has just put away his phone and now he's pouting. thanks alec.

 **Clary (1:38pm):** anyway, he meant that jace did not come to eat with us!

 **Izzy (1:43pm):** OOOOOOHHHH wht does this mean?

 **Alec (1:44pm):** Hm. He's not with me.

 **Izzy (1:45pm):** y r u even on ur phone when ure w/ magnus? don't u have anything better 2 do? ;)

 **Alec (1:45pm):** Shut up?

 **Jace (2:05pm):** I was busy.

 **Simon (2:07pm):** how

 **Jace (2:07pm):** None of your business.

 **Izzy (4:43pm):** been w/ meliorn 2 “work on their assignment”. weirdly enough, tho, he's asked max how 2 dry flowers

 **Clary (4:49pm):** omg, what? :3

  


-

 

For the first time this week since he announced the group work, Mr Garroway addresses his class again once the bell has rung. Jace isn't particularly happy about turning his back towards Meliorn, even if it's just for a few moments.

“I will be going from group to group today,” Mr Garroway announces, “I want to hear what everyone’s plans are so far. If there are any problems or questions, don't be afraid to address them.”

He opens his arms in a gesture that tells them that he's finished and Jace turns in his seat again.

“Shit,” he mumbles. “We don't have anything yet!”

“Don't worry. I've been meaning to tell you that I have an idea.”, Meliorn says in a low voice. He hasn't even said yet what he means and Jace already feels calmer. “There's this movie that is based on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. However, it's very different and pretty much the only thing they have in common are the character names.”

“Wow, okay?”,  Jace breathes. “Do you think that's enough?”

Meliorn nods. “Surely.”

“That's good. Then we can--”

“What's good?”, Mr Garroway’s comes up next to them. Jace looks up to see the man give them a bright smile. He's always liked the teacher because he has such a positive vibe. “This is about the project, I hope?”, he adds with a look at the way Meliorn slouches on his seat.

Jace nods at him. “Meliorn has told me that he--”

“Those are not my pronouns.”, Meliorn points out in a casual tone.

Jace frowns at him. He doesn't think that he's ever talked _about_ Meliorn while the other is around, but it still irritates him to have misgendered them the whole time, apparently?

“I use fae pronouns.”, Meliorn tells him and nods for him to continue.

For a second Jace is thrown off because he's never encountered anyone who uses neo-pronouns. Plus, he doesn't think that this is something that you bring up in front of your teacher - but then again, Meliorn is on an entirely different spectrum of etiquette already.

“Okay,” Jace says. He's certainly the last person to argue with someone about their gender experience. “Meliorn has told me that fae thinks a comparison to a movie that's a modern retelling of a play would be a good idea.”

Mr Garroway raises an eyebrow into Meliorn’s direction. Apparently he hasn't thought faer to even know a modern movie either.

“We were considering _She’s The Man_ , actually.”, Meliorn says. “It's only loosely based and gives a lot of space for talk.”

“Hm,” Mr Garroway makes. “I don't think I'm familiar with that film, but if you say so…”, he nods. “Carry on.”

When he’s gone, Jace raises an eyebrow at Meliorn, hoping to gain faer attention so he won’t have to bring it up. Technically, Meliorn has brought it up already by pointing out that fae uses non-traditional pronouns, but that’s done nothing but raise Jace’s curiosity.

“Fae pronouns?”, he asks eventually, when it’s apparent that the other won’t react.

Meliorn’s attention has been focussed on something outside again, but when Jace addresses faer, fae snaps out of it, looking at him with a neutral expression. “Yes. I came to think that the binary gender system is a social construct that does not apply to me.”

“Uh… Okay.”, Jace says slowly. He’s come across some pages dealing with the so-called ‘non-binary genders’ as he was looking for a new binder, but hasn’t gone further into that. Maybe he should do that some time. “That’s actually quite badass, just saying that in front of a teacher.”

During the past couple of days, Jace has learned that Meliorn does not shy away from making direct eye contact. But for the first time since they first talked, probably, it seems like he’s looking directly at _him_ instead of his _eyes_ . “I recall that _you_ have addressed the whole _school_ , if not city, about your gender.”, fae says. If Jace didn’t know better, he’d think there’s a hint of admiration in faer voice.

It’s true, Jace has never made it a secret that he's trans - well, he supposes he _has_ when he'd first discovered and feared the Lightwood’s reaction. You can't blame him for that, seeing how his adoptive parents are _priests_ and rumour has it that all kinds of churches hate all kinds of ‘abnormal’ behaviour. But they've been accepting, turning Jace’s whole wardrobe around and made him feel supported and loved.

Nowadays, he doesn't mind who knows and who doesn't. Especially after the huge discussion with VP Herondale about whether he should be allowed to play on the boys’ team that's led to protests for several weeks (initiated by the partners in crime that Isabelle and Magnus are), Jace makes no secret out of his gender. He wears a sports bra when he plays lacrosse, which is healthier and more comfortable, and changes in the boys’ locker room, like he should.

So, yes, he supposes that people could think _he_ isn’t the one to be impressed by people’s coming-out stories - but he is, because everyone who decides to confront another person about their orientation or gender _is_ brave. You never know how people will truly react, so there’s always a risk.

“Besides,” Meliorn continues with a small shrug, “Mr Garroway always rants about how important political correctness is, right?”

Jace nods at that. If there’s any teacher who always works towards being just to everyone (even if it’s just a fictional character), it would definitely be their English teacher. He’s glad that they actually got him for the last two years of High school, because Jace feels like Clary’s stepdad is actually preparing him for real life.

“So, fae pronouns? Are those derived from faeries? Because I gotta say, you really hit the bull’s eye there.”

If Meliorn’s ever come close to _beaming_ at him, fae definitely does so now. It’s a sight that warms Jace’s heart.

 

-

 

“What's _he_ doing here?”, Jace hears one of his team members ask in an aggressive voice.

He looks up and follows the guy’s gaze - or rather, sneer - to the stands. He doesn't know whom he's expecting to sit there, but it certainly isn't Meliorn.

Fae sits on one of the benches, faer legs crossed like they always seem to be and looks towards the field.

“Huh,” Jace makes, “hang on.”

He puts his stick down on the ground and jogs over to the stands. He isn't even surprised that Meliorn’s eyes don't focus on him as he comes closer but rather keep staring somewhere in the distance.

“Meliorn.”

The other blinks and looks at him at last. “Hello, Jace.”

“Not that I'm not a fan of you being here, but how come you are?”,  Jace asks.

Fae shrugs softly. “I felt like it.”

Jace raises an eyebrow. “Want to watch me?”, he asks with a grin.

Meliorn just smiles at that.

“Well, then I better be good, huh?”, Jace says and as he starts to turn away, he adds, “Talk to you later!”

When he comes back to his teammates, he doesn't even have the chance to think about Meliorn just implied that fae would like to watch him train (not that Jace would mind, of course), because Zeke greets him with a look that waits for an explanation.

“Wants to watch.”, Jace says curtly and shrugs.

“I don't like that.”, Zeke says, looking past him and narrowing his eyes at Meliorn. “He's weird.”

“Meliorn’s cool.”, Jace says sharply, challenging him to say any more. “Back off.”

“‘Course you'd say that.”, Zeke answers and rolls his eyes. “You always take in the weirdos, right? First Lewis, then Bane - what college guy even _wants_ to hang with High Schoolers? -  and now _Meliorn_. You could be friends with the coolest guys and yet…”

Jace scowls at him. “What did you just say?”

“Look, I know you're probably stuck with Lewis and Bane because of your siblings but, really, you only talk to Meliorn because of that one project, right? So leave it at that.”, Zeke continues, keeping his voice casual as the meaning gets sharper. “I think the guy doesn't even _shower_.”

Out of the corner of his eye Jace can see how their teammates have backed away as the conversation developed. “Zeke,” he growls, making himself take deep breaths so that he won't do anything he'll regret, “Shut up.”

“I mean, somehow it fits.”, Zeke says coldly. “It's not like your normal yourself.”

 _Screw regrets_ , Jace’s mind supplies before he throws himself at the other. Only a few seconds later, both he and Zeke are on the hard ground, pulling and scratching each other wherever they can. Zeke is surprisingly strong for his slim build, but Jace has been raised with two siblings his age and one considerably younger who still likes to play-fight, so he knows what to do to have the upper hand.

They’re pulled apart by their team mates when their trainer’s voice thunders, demanding to know what happened.

“Who of you started this?”, Mrs Penhallow asks as soon as they’re both back on their feet.

Jace has no problem with admitting that he threw the first punch since Zeke deserved it, but he’s actually offended by how fast _everyone’s_ finger points at him. Of course, he doesn’t want them to _lie_ for him, but a little support would have been nice nonetheless.

“In my defense--”

Mrs Penhallow raises a hand. “I don’t want to hear any of this. You cannot hurt another player, no matter what he’s done. If need be, you can argue about this _off the field_.”, she says sternly, granting both of them a scolding look. “For now, though, you may leave the training, Jace.”

Jace gasps at her. “ _Me_ ? _Only_ me? You can’t be serious!”

“I am afraid I am.”, she answers, actually looking sad for a second. “You attacked, so you have to be punished. The rules are hard, but they are the rules.”

Again, Jace just stares at her in disbelief. Sure, he _has_ started, but he had reason to! And his trainer won’t even listen to his reasoning! With a loud huff, he bends down to pick up his stick again and turns around, _strutting_ back towards the stands.

He can’t tell if Meliorn has seen what’s happened - you never know with faer - but as he comes closer, faer eyes are fixed on him. Fae doesn’t ask about it, however, and Jace is actually quite glad about that. He wouldn’t want to explode on faer.

So instead of ranting and complaining, he asks - or rather just _states_ , “Will you go on a walk with me?”, at which Meliorn practically jumps up from the bench.

 

-

 

“Woah, what happened to your face?”, Clary says as she sits down next to Jace, cupping his face with her hand to get a better look.

He doesn't exactly have a black eye, but there's a light bruise at the corner of it. Most scratches that Zeke has given him are somewhere on his arms, so he was able to hide it from his parents.

“He won't tell us how he got it.”, Alec mutters, his voice filled with an accusation.

“Yeah,” Izzy agrees, “He came home with it yesterday and just-- nothing.”

Jace huffs at that. Naturally, his siblings have immediately realised that something’s been off. That he and Meliorn have spent a few hours walking around and talked has certainly helped his temper, but a part of him had still snapped when they asked how training has been. Alec, being perceptive as he is, has noticed that there’ve been some red spots on his face and neck, so they'd figured that something happened. He hadn't felt like talking about it, though.

“Wait.”, Raphael voices from the end of the table. “Yesterday? So _you_ had that fight with Zeke?”

Jace raises an eyebrow at him.

“He's in my eco class.”, Raphael explains. “I didn't hear much, but he was bragging about having kicked someone’s ass. But comparing you guys, you got out of it with less, to be honest.”

Jace can't help but smirk at that. It's good to know that he won that first fight at least, for all the trouble it got him. Meliorn hadn't brought it up when they'd sat in class together earlier, but rather played with the markers that Jace had spread out on the table. They'd resumed to reading through the play and talk about some things here and there, but overall just sitting there in comfortable silence with the chatter of their classmates in the background.

“Why did you have a fight with Zeke?”, Alec demands to know.

Jace shrugs. “He was being an asshole.”

“And the only thing you could've done was punch him?”

“Yes.”

At that, Alec just sighs.

Apparently, that seems to put an end on this topic, because Izzy rather asks, “Where is Simon even?”, than digging further into Jace’s problem.

“Did your mum eat him?”, she asks Raphael, grinning at him.

“ _No_ ,” Raphael snarls. “It's none of your business, but they got along pretty well, if you must know.”, he says. There's something in his voice that indicates how happy he is about that.

“I think he's meeting up with Eric to trade some comics.”, Clary says. “He's trying to get rid off his Grayson issues.”

“That's nice, babe.”, Izzy says absently, patting her hand. “But I'd rather hear more about what went down at the _Casa de Santiago._ ”

Raphael rolls his eyes at her and takes a bite of his sandwich. It's obvious that he's trying to ignore her, but Izzy has always gotten around to getting her information. She knows how to ask question or state assumptions, making people answer even if they _really_ don't want to. Nobody knows it better than her brothers.

Soon enough, they all know details about Simon’s visit at Raphael’s. Apparently, he's only made a fool of himself a couple of times. Jace guesses that must be a record for him. As it seems, the fact that Simon can sing has given him plus points with Raphael’s mum, even though the fact that he barely knows any Christian songs has put that enthusiasm to a halt again. All in all, she seems to have accepted him, though, which they are all glad about.

Jace wouldn't even want to imagine what would happen if Simon and Raphael were to break up. Sometimes it seems like their relationship is what keeps the world in harmony, simply because they are keeping each other in a balance.

It's weird, though, but Jace has secretly given them the title of ‘relationship goals’ after seeing that term on the internet.

 

-

 

“Jace!”, Alec yells from downstairs. “You have a visitor!”

He’s heard that the bell went off, but he hadn’t thought much about it. He’d figured it’d be someone for his parents, or maybe Magnus or Clary who’d want to spend the evening with their respective partner. He isn’t quite sure who’d stop by that late for him, so when he crosses his brother in the hallway, he throws him a curious look.

“Meliorn.”, Alec shrugs as he leaves for the kitchen.

Jace hadn’t exactly thought that Meliorn would ever stop by. They had discussed in class that they should get around to watching the movie for their assignment some time soon, but they didn’t make actual plans for that. He’d be lying if he said he isn’t happy that Meliorn would rather watch it with him than alone.

For some reason, he checks how he looks before he opens the door, revealing the other to stand there, faer gaze directed at one of his mother’s rose bushes before moving over to him.

Jace doesn't question it when Meliorn takes his hand without even saying as much as a hello but rather let's himself be led behind the house.

He sinks down next to the other when fae sits down on the ground, not caring about whether the grass is wet or muddy, and pulls his knees against his chest. He doesn't know what exactly Meliorn is planning but he's found himself not caring about that lately. He enjoys being with faer, listening to what fae wants to talk about at that moment.

Listening to Meliorn is always an experience, simply because fae always finds the right words to capture your senses and make you _experience_ things.

Now, as they sit on the ground, they're looking up to the night sky. Jace knows quite a share of constellations and yet he sits there and stares up to find any new. He barely ever has the time to enjoy the overwhelming sight of the open world just above them.

“You know, when I was younger I read so many books on space,” Jace finds himself saying, “I was, like, really obsessed and I didn't even want to become an astronaut.”

“What did you want to do?”

“I don't know, something to help people, you know?”, Jace replies. “Like a doctor or teacher or something.”

“That fits.”, Meliorn says seriously.

“What about you?”

Fae stays silent for a moment. “I can only see myself be something that people would call a ‘tree hugger’.”

Jace chuckles at that and when he looks at Meliorn, he can see faer throw a sly grin at him. Even in the dim moonlight, he can't help but wonder how it's possible that the other looks so good. It's not even that fae seems to use any products to make faer look like fae’s just stepped out of a forest, fitting to faer entire consciousness - it’s all natural in faer aura.

As he thinks that, he loses control over what he does for a second. He leans over, closing the distance between their bodies and presses his lips gently against the other pair.

“I… sorry.”, he says slowly, pulling away. Meliorn’s smile has been exchanged for the raise of an eyebrow. “I was--”

His eyes go wide when Meliorn places a hand on his neck, pulling him closer again. Their lips meet again, Meliorn’s soft against his own with a light pressure.

Jace feels a buzz go through his chest as he parts his lips, letting Meliorn’s tongue in. The kiss is light, chaste almost, and so are their movements, but before Jace knows it, he's _lying_ on the ground, Meliorn on top of him.

“Hm,” Jace makes when they pull apart for a moment. “Didn't we plan to watch a movie?”

“The night is still young.”, Meliorn replies in a husky voice.

“You're a night owl?”, Jace raises an eyebrow and raises a hand to play with the necklace around Meliorn’s neck.

“The world’s too beautiful to be asleep.”, fae replies and leans down for another kiss.

 

-

 

“Would you mind if I sat down here?”

Jace is surprised to hear Meliorn’s voice behind him. By now, it's not anymore because he doesn't know it - he knows it _so_ well by now - but simply because it stands out against the loud chatter of his friends. Meliorn isn't one to speak up in a group of people because fae isn't one to _be_ in a group of people. Usually fae spends their lunch break on faer own, something that fae seem to enjoy a lot.

Now, however, fae stands there, holding an apple in a hand and having the other placed in the pocket of faer washed-out jeans. Fae smiles at the group.

“Meliorn!”, Izzy is the first to speak up. She gets up from her seat and sits down on Clary’s lap who closes her arms around her immediately. “There,” she smiles, pointing at the seat next to Jace.

Jace hasn't particularly kept Meliorn a secret - they've spent quite some time with one another since they first got teamed up and neither his siblings nor his friends could've missed that he grew to like the other. But while some of them have kept teasing him about it, he's never mentioned that he and Meliorn are _dating_ now.

“Unless _you_ want to sit on _Jace’s_ lap.”, Clary adds with a grin.

Meliorn glares at her and for a moment, Jace thinks that fae is just going to turn around and leave again. But, of course, fae’s never been one to fulfill his expectations. “Not now.”, fae simply says as fae sits down next to him.

At that, everyone’s mouth falls open. That is, everyone's except Raphael’s. The Latino just smirks and nudges his elbow into Magnus’ side before picking up his conversation with Simon again. He doesn't seem to care that his boyfriend is still distracted.

Meliorn turns to look at Jace. “Is it okay that I'm here?”

Jace smiles at faer in response even though he can't keep himself from blushing. “More than okay.”, he tells faer and places his hand on top of faers.

“That is good.”, Meliorn says and takes a bite of faer apple.

Fae doesn't really participate in any conversation that gets picked up once everyone calmed down (Jace expects that they're going to corner him about this when Meliorn is gone) but faer mere presence makes Jace feel even more comfortable as he chats with his friends.

 

-

 

“So…”, Alec makes when they're on their way home. His eyes are fixed on the street but for a second, he's looking at Jace from the corner of his eye. “You and Meliorn?”

“Hm,” Jace makes in reply, “Seems so.”

“When did that happen?”, Izzy demands to know. “I mean, not that we're really surprised, obviously, but since when is that actually a thing?”

Jace frowns for a moment. He knows that they all have been teasing him about hanging out with Meliorn so often, especially since they've had to hand in their assignment last week already, but there's still a stretch to actually being convinced of what you're laughing about. “Why are you not surprised?”

“Maybe because you spend almost all your free time with him? Or because you start to stare at nothing with a dreamy glance? Either that's contagious or you were daydreaming.”, is Izzy’s explanation.

As he refrains himself from correcting her about Meliorn’s pronouns (while fae seems to be pretty chill about people knowing, it certainly isn’t Jace’s place to just out faer to others), he supposes that she’s right about both. He _has_ started to just stare out of the window at times, like Meliorn does, trying to find as much beauty in the world as fae does. And sometimes, he just thinks about Meliorn’s smile.

“Are you properly dating?”, Alec asks.

“I think so?”, Jace says. “I mean, it's not official yet, you know? But… yeah, I think?”

“You _think_?”, Izzy asks. “You better hurry up before mum and dad find out otherwise. If you tell them yourself, there's nothing they can say against this.”

“True.”, Alec nods. “They can't have anything against Meliorn if you don't hide him from them.”

“What do you mean?”

“They don't know _anything_ about him.”, Alec elaborates. “Like, remember when they didn't want me to date Magnus because he's older?”

“Or when dad thought I only dated Clary so Mrs Fray would give me a better grade in gym?”

Of course, Jace remembers both of these discussions. They've been a topic in their household for weeks that caused lots of fights and slamming of doors. Even today, they'd still complain about their children’s partners sometimes. But Jace doesn't see how that connects to him and Meliorn.

“They don't have anything in their hands to dislike Meliorn.”, Izzy continues. “But if you keep him a secret, they'll immediately be suspicious of him. Man, you have the chance for a _supported_ relationship, you shouldn't blow it.”

“Hm,” Jace makes. He hadn't even thought about his parents. For now, he'd just wanted to enjoy his time with Meliorn without anyone poking into it. But as it seems, with Meliorn even coming to spend faer break with _his_ friends, the other probably wouldn't mind making it public. They need to have a talk.

“You still didn't say for how long this has been going on, though.”, Alec points out.

“A week or so?”, Jace offers.

“Oh, okay, that's definitely not the time to introduce him to mum and dad then.”, Izzy says happily. “Way too early.”

“I'm sure I told them about Magnus after a couple of days.”, Alec argues and frowns.

“Yeah, that, my dear brother, is because your head is stuck in a time where kissing is an equivalent to proposing.”, Izzy replies.

Jace laughs when he sees that Alec’s cheeks turn red.

 

-

 

Contrary to the beliefs of Jace’s siblings, Meliorn does have a phone. It's not a new one and fae doesn't use it as excessively as other do, but fae does send him short texts every now and then to make sure they'll meet up at the right place.

The early evening after they've gotten back their assignment (it's been a straight A, of course), Meliorn’s texted him to come to a small creek not too far from their school.

As it turns out, as a celebration Meliorn has brought a bottle of what seems to be a cheap wine. While he's initially been surprised by that, Jace just grins at faer and steals the bottle from faer.

In response, Meliorn steps forward and gently kisses him as a way of greeting, caressing his cheek as fae does so. “I was thinking we could enjoy the sunset.”

Jace nods, taking the other’s hand and together they walk along the creek until they find a bench to sit on.

For a while, they just sit there, halfway cuddling and talking about everything and nothing. Meliorn tells him that fae likes to come here during the summer when the sunset is even more colourful, and sometimes even for the sunrise, just to compare the views. Jace finds that really interesting because even though he’s not one to sleep till noon, he never gets around to see the sunrise. He’s not even sure he’d have known any real forest-like places in the city if it weren’t for Meliorn - while life in one of the biggest cities of the world has its perks, it also tends to rob you off nature. He can understand why Meliorn gets lost in it so often.

It’s comfortable to just sit there with Meliorn, as it has been for the past weeks, but he also does remember what his siblings have said about making things official. He’s figured that he’d want to do that, just so that he has a _word_ that links him to faer even on an abstract level.

“You know, I’d been thinking if maybe… you’d like to go on a date some time.”, Jace proposes. When he’s met by a raised eyebrow, he quickly adds, “It doesn’t have to be any different from, like, this here or something but… I’d like to call it one? And I wanna have the whole anxiety over a first date, to be honest.”

Meliorn chuckles at that. “That’s weird.”

Jace stares at faer. If you’d told him only a month ago that _Meliorn_ would ever call _him_ weird, he would have laughed into your face. Now, however, he realizes that maybe, everyone has parts to them that are weird to others. But that doesn’t help him feel embarrassed right now. “I mean… we don’t have to. If you don’t want to. It was just--”

“Jace,” Meliorn puts faer hand on Jace’s. “I’d _love_ to. We can do whatever you want. In my opinion, we’re actually doing a lot more things that I enjoy more than you do, probably.”

“If I didn’t like any of this, I wouldn’t be here.”, Jace says with a smile as he intertwines his fingers with Meliorn’s. “Are you free on Saturday? I’d like to take you out.”, he asks with a sheepish grin.

“Sure.”, Meliorn replies and lifts their hands to press a kiss against Jace’s.

Jace leans his head against the other’s and closes his eyes for a moment. He’d never have thought that he’d enjoy just sitting around and looking at the reflection of a sunset, and yet there he is, none of his usual restlessness there. If he’d known that the solution for one of his biggest concerns has been sitting in his English class all along, he’d have chatted up this beautiful person way earlier - not just to make himself feel better, but simply because Meliorn is _fascinating_ and Jace can’t believe he’d originally thought him to be a weirdo.

“I like you a lot.”, Jace hears himself say as he opens his eyes again.

Meliorn smiles. “That’s fitting, because I like you, too.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you like, you can reblog this fic [here](http://joanthangroff.tumblr.com/post/152745878643/learn-to-live-so-free) on tumblr.
> 
> Feel free to leave kudos and a comment!


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